Objectives

cities pursue integrated urban planning and implementation and increase their ambitions, to deliver impactful sustainable development outcomes with global environmental benefits (GEBs)

Other

Note: Disbursement data provided is cumulative and covers disbursement made by the project Agency.

Target Groups

The Project aims strengthen integrated urban planning approaches through learning material and opportunities for city officials to improve sustainable, inclusive, and integrated planning approaches. Integrated planning relates to the transformation of existing practices and processes to enable multi-sector collaboration to allow cities to take advantage of the co-benefits to operate as systems (transportation, land use, housing, conservation, business, etc.) influencing one another, and increase efficiencies both in terms of land and resource use, ultimately benefitting biodiversity and ecosystems and the services they provide, climate mitigation and adaptation as well as pollution and health. Integrated planning for sustainable urban development aims to facilitate and articulate political decisions and actions to transform cities and neighborhoods. Integrated planning efforts also emphasize participatory approaches, in which women, minorities and vulnerable groups are part of the dialogues and influence decisions. Cities are natural places for integrated solutions and offer fertile ground to integrate interdependent operations. Traditionally, urban systems have been integrated with varying degrees of effectiveness through urban governance and land use planning. The integration of human systems and natural systems provides strong environmental, social and economic benefits. For instance, the development of and management of watershed ecosystems, forests as urban and peri-urban agriculture as elements of green infrastructure in and around cities, offer compounding benefits for global climate change mitigation and local urban adaptation, resilience, diminishing air and water pollution, and increasing quality of life. Moreover, in this century, problem solving is co-created, powered by multi-level governments, multi-sector networks and individuals and entities with knowledge and capacity that cut across disciplines (New localism, 2019). Cities must prioritize work across multiple sectors (e.g. land use, housing, transport, economic development water, waste, sanitation, public safety, education, and energy) and must align multiple strategies (e.g. planning, budget, staff skills, regulatory frameworks, civic engagement) to be able to have an enduring impact on the ground. Evidence-based and integrated urban planning provide this opportunity. When cities utilize integrated approaches for planning, the impact of the sectoral actions is higher than the sum of the parts. A study by the International Resource Panel (IRP) shows how parallel actions in urban spatial restructuring, human-scale sustainable design, resource-efficient urban components, urban infrastructure planning for cross-sector efficiency and the promotion of sustainable behaviors, leads to improvements in well-being for all, while reducing resource consumption and GHG emissions. According to the “Weight of cities” by the IRP, cities can achieve some 30-55% reduction of GHG emissions, water and metal consumption and land use compared to baseline projections, by leveraging connections and resource sharing across urban systems such as green buildings, district energy systems, bus rapid transport, and transition to renewables combined with strategic densification (IRP, 2018). Utilizing integrated urban planning approaches provides multiple benefits to cities. It allows cities to formulate cross-sectoral goals and to develop monitoring systems for cross-cutting policy fields. They enable cities to develop strategies and projects that involve the knowledge and perspectives of different disciplines and actors from civil and private sector. They help cities with limited budgets and capacities to implement their goals more efficiently by joining capacities and funds, and by reducing trade-offs between sectors and neighboring municipalities (Eisenbeiß, 2016). Integrated sectoral approaches include multiple benefits generated by looking at the connections between sectors. Examples include low-carbon transit-oriented development; circular economy and resource flow driven planning. The same thinking, area-based investments (integrated approaches at the neighborhood level) should use approaches to capture multiple environmental and livability benefits, such as combining green spaces with low emission zones to regulate temperature, air quality and noise for healthier living and a more sustainable environment. Not only does inclusive, integrated urban planning incorporate gender and vulnerable processes into decision making and participatory processes, the GP aims to mainstream gender in all its activities to ensure gender is considered robustly in project design and implementation. For instance, the Project will collect sex-disaggregated data for all events. The Project Team will staff a Gender Lead and will have the support of WRI’s Gender Specialist (as co-finance) through the duration of the project to advise on the design and implementation of the gender action plan.

Objectives

To enhance the resilience and sustainability of landscapes and livelihoods in the Aral basin, and progress toward Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), through integrated management of land, lake, wetland, and riparian ecosystems, with engagement of private sector and local communities.

Other

Note: Disbursement data provided is cumulative and covers disbursement made by the project Agency.

Target Groups

The envisaged benefits to local and national stakeholders will be interconnected with the aggregated environmental benefits enabled by the project’s features: (i) embedded integrated benefits and synergies across focal areas, (ii) mechanisms for integrated decision making and (iii) landscape-scale designed interventions. The project incentivizes local actors away from destructive behaviour through engaging them in alternative economic activities, as well as biodiversity friendly livelihoods around protected areas. Adequate awareness, technical knowledge and access to funding are key to ensuring that stakeholders will be able to adopt innovative, environmental-friendly practices. The project therefore aims at increasing capacity of 300 public sector employees and PAs staff who will be trained in integrated water-land management and biodiversity management. Approximately 50 local farmers and pastoralists will benefit from the project’s Micro-scheme support for livelihoods ( under Output 3.2.3) and it is estimated that their income will register at least 50% increase as a result of the implemented SLM measures. This is a conservative percentage, as income generation from recommended SLM measures (captured under GEF/UNDP Project Annex 24) will likely provide more benefits: e.g. according to past donor-supported projects[1], application of rotational grazing alone can provide an estimated net profit of up to $16 per sheep ( after subtracting the costs per sheep of about $8) ; similarly, planting drought resistant crops to enhance forage production and prevent erosion leads to a significant generation of profit estimated at $243-$341/ha from the third year onwards, made from selling of seeds and use of hay; whereas the income generation resulted from agroforestry measures as a land reclamation practice, varies e.g. maximal profit may be obtained from cultivation of Russian olive Eleagnus angustifolia due to annual selling of fruits (approx.. 3500 euro/ha within 7 years period); the firewood harvested from Populus euphratica can give a profit of 2300 euro/ha[2] A conservatively estimated number of up to approximately 9700 local households (benefiting 48,500 people, considering 5 family members/household) are envisaged to take up SLM measures promoted and demonstrated by the project and have their livelihoods improved. This number represents 10% of the people employed in agricultural sector in the targeted districts, that are expected to benefit from the project’s activities and the promoted SLM measures: rotational grazing, planting forest shelterbelts, innovative land restorations measures, sustainable irrigation and crop rotations to increase soil productivity. The project will further mobilize governmental funds in the form of subsidies for farmers applying SLM measures on degraded land (through amendments to the Concept “ On measures for the efficient use of land and water resources in agriculture”-June 2019) . Other forms of project support will be extended for alternative local income generating enterprises such as medicinal herb production, handicrafts workshops, green house agriculture, fodder crop agriculture- to provide some form of compensation to farmers/pastoralists who may lose an existing source of income from extensive livestock farming, due to the implementation of sustainable pasture management plans. These measures will yield socio economic benefits and will contribute to the achievement of environmental benefits. Implementing pasture rotational grazing, letting land rest from grazing for a specific period, leads to increase in carbon sequestration in soil and vegetation; increase of pasture botanical composition which is expected to increase livestock welfare and milk production. Promoted use of manure as fertiliser to improve soil structure will reduce chemical use and agricultural expenses. These practices are also inferred to reduce hazards to soil, wildlife and human health. The benefits produced by the SLM interventions have the potential to reduce vulnerability to climate change, supporting multiple sources of food, energy and income thereby reducing community dependence on any single resource that might be affected by climate change. For example, various and innovative measures of restoring degraded land in targeted districts and supporting local communities’ alternative income from vegetable gardens, fruit tree cultivation, rustic poultry, basketry etc contribute to both food security and income diversity. Rehabilitation of water pumps and wells will ensure crop productivity which is especially important considering the past decade’s increase incidence of drought. Furthermore, tree planting and ecosystem protection activities in forests and pastures contribute to increase soil productivity and decreased soil salinity, thus providing ecosystems goods and services that further mitigate the negative effects of climate change. Replication and scaling up embedded in project design will ensure multiple benefits occurring during and soon after the project will end, through the formed partnerships that leveraged the resources of multiple sectors such as private companies, research institutes, NGOs, other donors. The mechanisms for integrated decision making that the project will promote under GEF/UNDP Projects Outputs 1.1, 1.2, 2.1 and 2.2 and community outreach/collaborative approaches in support of PAs management under 3.2.2 will provide opportunities to reduce conflicts among resource users and/or overlaps in institutional mandates. General agreements on potential trade-offs promoted through an integrated and participatory manner, provide the platform for improved environmental and socio-economic benefits. In addition to agricultural activities, as it has been demonstrated by many other projects, during participatory mechanisms, farmers use these opportunities to talk about water, climate, sanitation and social issues and by so doing they are able to engage local authorities as partners in different other proposals for rural development. Finally, the project’s focus at landscape-level in Lower Amudarya and Aral Sea Basin (LADAB) landscape and on the implementation of multiple interventions within a spatial unit, allows for generating more synergistic benefits. Healthy ecosystems will ensure resilience of the region to climate and human threats, and the maintenance of ecosystem services for local communities. [1] Examples recorded in UNCCD/WOCAT database [2] http://www.fao.org/3/i7318en/I7318en.pdf

General

The purpose of this project is to support the protection of Loma Mountains National Parks endangered.chimpanzees by: (1) conducting surveys to estimate chimpanzee abundance, understand population.dynamics, and identify cultural traits; (2) conducting fecal analysis and botanical surveys to determine.chimpanzee dietary habits, and resource needs and use; (3) using botanical surveys, satellite imagery and.ground-truthing to map chimpanzee habitat; (4) restoring that habitat through reforestation with key tree.species; (5) improving biomonitoring through increasing the number of community monitors and.expanding their training; (6) conducting environmental education in 14 schools and introducing a Roots.& Shoots program for regional youth; (7) improving understanding of local economies through a.socioeconomic study and land use planning; and promoting a shift to more environmentally friendly.livelihoods.